Angel of Death II
by SanadaSayuri
Summary: Drabbles for my Naruto fics Ch1: Ibiki's service to the Oracle Ch2: The rumor of Zeiguwa's blindness. Ch3: Rin watches from the shadows Ch4: Orochimaru gets tortured Ch5: Tsunade becomes Godaime Ch6: After Parallel... Ch7: The Oracles
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Summary: Ibiki's service to the Oracle, past and present. (One Shot)

**Angel of Death**

"_Ne, Ibiki-kun?"_

"_Nani?"_

"_There are times when the Oracle selects a Mouth to speak for them."_

"_So?"_

"_A time is coming when I will need a Mouth. When that time comes, will you be my Mouth, Ibiki-kun?"_

"_I would be honored to serve as the Mouth of the Oracle."_

"_That's great! So, Arashi's getting married soon. What color do you think will suit me best? Red or blue?"_

"_Chizuru!"

* * *

_

"_He is Arashi's child, the Jinchuuriki…"_

"_Aa."_

"_Will you protect him, Ibiki-kun?"_

"_I will. I will protect Arashi's child until I die if you wish it."_

"_Then do so, for he will be the one who will determine the fate of the village. However, you must do so without bias, and you must never be seen or known to him."_

"_I promise I will care for him with all the skill at my disposal."_

"_I am glad. I am very glad that he will be protected."

* * *

_

"_Cloud… We'll be under attack by cloud in a little under a month… Ibiki… Let Hokage-sama know…"_

"_Aa… I'll be sure to pass the message on."_

_A faint smile crossed pale lips. "Thank you, Ibiki-kun…"

* * *

_

"_Chizuru!"_

"_It's my time, Ibiki-kun."_

"_Chizuru! We still need you here!"_

"_No. The Oracle is no longer needed in Konoha. If the Oracle is indeed needed in the future, then a new Oracle will arise. For now, my duty, to ensure the continued existence of the last Kazama is complete. It is my time."_

"_He still needs to be protected!"_

"_Perhaps, but not by my hands or presence. I can do no more."_

"_Chizuru!"_

_She leapt off the mountain, and he rushed to the edge, reaching for his longtime friend. His grasping hands missed her outstretched arms by mere inches, and she plummeted away from him, her pale eyes glowing in the pale light of the setting sun, the white robes of the Kazama fluttering around her._

"_Sayonara… Ibiki-kun…"_

_Her gentle voice drifted through the air, and she vanished into the canopy of the forest below._

"_CHIZURUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

* * *

_

Ibiki watched as the genin sweated under his eyes, and found his eyes drawn toward the Kyuubi vessel, one Uzumaki Naruto. The boy was looking over the paper, studying the questions, and as if feeling Ibiki's gaze on him, looked up. Their eyes locked and Ibiki suddenly found himself drowning in pure blue eyes.

_Damn brat caught me in some sort of genjutsu,_ Ibiki thought lazily. _The brat has guts._

"_Why, it's me! Orochimaru!"_

"_You… you succeeded in… Your existence is an abomination!"_

Ibiki tore his gaze away from the crystalline blue of the Jinchuuriki at the sound of the Sandaime's voice. His eyes widened in horror.

He was standing on the roof of the Hokage's Balcony at the stadium where the Third Exam would take place. Beside him was the ANBU Commander in his white cloak, two other ANBU dressed in their black cloaks beside him. Before Ibiki was a barrier, inside which four people stood. He recognized them all, for one was the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru, and on either side of him stood the resurrected Shodai and Nidaime Hokage, whose faces were carved onto the mountain that defended Konoha's rear. Facing off against them was the Sandaime, who looked old and frail in his armor, surrounded by the trees grown by the Shodai.

"What is this?!" Ibiki demanded of the ANBU Commander. To his ire, the Commander neither looked at him nor answered him.

"He cannot hear you," a calm voice said from behind him. "We have no substance here."

Ibiki turned and stared at the boy, dressed in white, the seven pronged star rotating slowly as trails of blood ran down whiskered cheeks.

"You are… Oracle…" Ibiki whispered.

The Oracle smiled and said softly, "This is a vision of what will come, an inevitable confrontation in the future. For the duration of the Chunnin Exams, you will be my Mouth. Let the Sandaime know that he _must_ declare a successor. The future of the Hidden Leaf depends on it."

The image wavered and Ibiki blinked. He suddenly found himself back in the exam room, and Uzumaki Naruto was seated in the middle of the room, his face a mask of panic.

_What was that?_ Ibiki wondered.

"_For the duration of the Chunnin Exams, you will be my Mouth…"_

Ibiki shook his head and checked the time. He raised an eyebrow. _It's been thirty minutes since the Exam began? Was I really under the influence of the Oracle for that long?_

"_The future of the Hidden Leaf depends on it."_

Did it? Did the future of their beautiful village truly depend on whether or not the Sandaime designated an Heir?

…_the boy, dressed in white, the seven pronged star rotating slowly in his eyes as trails of blood ran down whiskered cheeks._

Only the Hokage and his or her heir and the leaders of the ANBU as well as the Elder and Head Council were allowed to know what identified the Oracle. Ibiki had known Kazama Chizuru, the previous Oracle. They had been a part of the same Genin Squad under the tutelage of Uchiha Yashiro, and more than once, her bleeding eyes saved them, though she had flung herself off the mountain when the strain of the Yochigan grew too much for her to bear.

_This is a vision of what will come, an inevitable confrontation in the future._

The Oracle never lied, Ibiki knew. "Time's up!" he yelled. He would serve the current Oracle as he had the previous. "Prepare yourselves for the tenth question!"

His eyes locked with Naruto's once more, and he nodded slightly, a near imperceptible motion. The boy's—no—the Oracle's lips twitched, and Ibiki found himself fighting the urge to smile broadly.

"First, we will lay down several more rules!"

He would serve. He would serve the Oracle who had saved the Leaf so often in the past. He would serve and be honored to have been given the chance twice in a lifetime. He would serve.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Summary: How the rumor of Zeiguwa's blindness began. (One Shot)

**Angel of Death**

Zeiguwa was blind.

It was the first thing the Wolf realized when he first met the boy Hunter. There was no other explanation for the boy's strange moments of clumsiness in which he would trip over an agonizingly obvious obstruction in his way such as the crate at the corner, or when he walked into the doorframe or a telephone pole. Tripping while going up and down the stairs didn't really matter much since even Ibiki or Anko did the same on occasion.

But it didn't explain everything else. There were times when the boy would spot the tripwire that was so cleverly hidden that even the Wolf had missed.

How could Zeiguwa, a blind child, notice the well hidden trip wire that he, a veteran ANBU, had missed, yet walk into telephone poles and doorways and trip over crates and barrels or a child's tricycle?

Wolf all but tore out his silver hair when ranting to his friend and rival about it when they were in civilian garb and not on duty. He had forgotten that the Tortoise would not possibly be able to keep his mouth shut if given an example of the so called "Burning Flames of Youth".

* * *

Zeiguwa was blind.

It was because of his own foolishness. He had allowed a drunk chunin to catch him, and use a senbon coated in a corrosive poison on him. He had beaten the chunin into a pulp of course, but the poison had already come in contact with his eyes.

He wasn't stupid. He knew that it would hamper his performance, so he trained and trained hard. All the while, he could feel that malevolent chakra inside of him carefully covering and healing and enhancing his damaged eyes.

Imagine his surprise when he heard a rumor circulating among the ANBU about the blind Hunter and how he would walk into telephone poles and trip over crates and barrels yet be able to spot tripwires that a seasoned ANBU has missed over. He cringed when the Tortoise raved at him about his "Raging Flames of Youth" the few times they worked on a mission together, and he secretly plotted the Wolf's sad and untimely (and most definitely long, painful, and bloody) demise by his chakrams when Tortoise let slip who had started the rumors in the first place.

After Zeiguwa's eyes healed, he found that his prey, having heard about the Blind Child Hunter of Konoha, underestimated him, and he found that killing them was much easier when they thought he was blind than when they only thought of him as one of the many child prodigies for which Konoha was known. So he set to work making it a cover, exaggerating his movements, and he made the rumors truth.

* * *

Zeiguwa was blind.

It was the rumor that his ANBU Captain had spread, and he had agreed. All the facts pointed to that one answer, despite the conundrum of the boy Hunter's abilities while he was off duty compared to his abilities on duty. Zeiguwa was blind, and so, of all the Hunters, he was both the weakest and the strongest. The Dog ANBU who served under Wolf agreed with his commander when Zeiguwa's blindness was brought up.

But then when Orochimaru henged into Uchiha Itachi and massacred his clan, leaving only his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke, alive, the Dog found out that the rumor made fact was in fact, false. Zeiguwa could see, in fact, he could see very well.

Uchiha Itachi doubted that he would have survived the battle if Zeiguwa had truly been blind, and thus, unable to see the document he had brandished as proof of his innocence of the Massacre and his departure on a mission to infiltrate the organization called the Akatsuki. But Zeiguwa was not blind, and he could see, and so, Uchiha Itachi survived their battle, if only just barely.

* * *

Zeiguwa was blind.

It was a rumor spread by her former teammate, and made fact by his assumptions, proven by his observations of Zeiguwa's own acting. Natsume Rin, better known as the Huntress Suzaku, had been amused when she first heard the rumor. Suzaku and the other Hunters in the Hunter's District watched as Zeiguwa fumed about the enemy gloating about how lucky they were that their pursuer was the Blind Hunter, and watched as he set to work making the act believable when he discovered how much easier his job was when they underestimated him for being a child and for being blind. And then his eyes healed, and they watched as he learned that he was blind in other ways. And then they watched as the Wolf opened his eyes and taught him to see.

Zeiguwa was blind. But Suzaku knew that it was not in the way many people believed. Zeiguwa was blind, which was why he had yet to make the connection between Suzaku with the Rin who had been Wolf's former genin teammate under the leadership of Zeiguwa's own father, the Yondaime Hokage.

Zeiguwa was blind, and Rin, best known to him as the Huntress Suzaku would be there to watch over him as the Wolf taught him to see…

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Summary: The only mention of Rin is in Kakashi Gaiden, and Kakashi vaguely makes reference to her when he claims that every one that he has ever cared for is gone. But what if Rin had always been there and Kakashi had never known it? The story of Mended Hearts from Rin's perspective starting from the moment she first met her genin team to the moment of her death… (One Shot)

**Angel of Death**

Natsume Rin never forgot the day they first met. Team 7 met in a time of war, when Stone and Leaf were at odds… Rin's teammates were both males; one a dead last, but also an Uchiha, and the other, a five year old child prodigy, the son of the exalted White Fang. She had been the only girl in the team, the orphan child whose family had been merchants, the weakling, the medic and genjutsu specialist.

Sensei had been three hours late, but he had entered the classroom in a ripped uniform, covered in blood, and a kunai was still imbedded in his back. He had just returned from a mission only to discover that due to a shortage of shinobi, he was suddenly responsible for a genin team. He had rushed from the Hokage's Office straight to the Academy to collect them, never mind that he was exhausted and hungry and covered in blood and sweat and in a lot of pain.

They had fought together, advanced together, and within a year and a half, on Kakashi's sixth birthday, they became chunnin. A little over three years after they had first met, Kakashi had been promoted to jounin. In rank, he was equal to their sensei, while she and Obito had remained chunnin. Or so they thought. Then Sensei had announced that he had been selected as the Sandaime's successor, to become the Yondaime, the position that many in the village had long believed would belong to Orochimaru of the Sannin. Sensei was still the highest ranking member of Team 7, but it was alright. It was just how things were supposed to be.

They had been given a mission, with Kakashi as the commanding officer. Sensei would be elsewhere running the diversion. And then, as Kakashi and Obito got into a fight, she and gotten herself captured. All Rin remembered later, was being released from a genjutsu and seeing Kakashi with a damaged eye and Obito who was relatively intact. When the cave they were in collapsed, Obito's right side had been crushed. At Obito's insistence, Rin had transplanted the dying Uchiha's working Sharingan into Kakashi's damaged eye. A gift to celebrate Kakashi's birthday and promotion, Obito had said with his last breaths. Rin never forgot that moment, the feeling of her hands covered in Obito's blood as she dug out the eyeball from her semi-conscious teammate's socket, taking care not to damage the precious body part.

Kakashi had been devastated, and he clung to both Sensei and herself like a drowning man to the rope attached to the anchored ship for years afterward.

A year later, the war ended and Sensei officially became Hokage and Kakashi entered the ANBU. Rin, herself, became a top notch medic and the Hokage's private physician. Secretly, unknown to Kakashi, with Yondaime-Sensei's blessing, she began to train under the keen eye of Hiyohime, the Commander of the Oinin.

Two years after that, Yondaime-Sensei married Magami Tohru. A year and six months after the wedding, Sensei summoned herself and Kakashi and asked them if they would protect his future children. They had both agreed.

Three months later, Yondaime-Sensei told them that Tohru-san was pregnant. Two months later, she discarded the name Natsume Rin to become the Huntress Suzaku.

She had watched from a shadowed corner of the office as twelve year old Kakashi acted his age for the first time in years and threw a temper tantrum about her disappearance. She had seen Yondaime-Sensei's pained face as he told the child prodigy of Team 7 that there was nothing he could do.

After Kakashi left, Yondaime-Sensei had said to her, "Never take off that mask unless Kakashi keeps his promise. If Kakashi does not take in the child, the child will need someone to protect him from the shadows."

And Suzaku gave her word as a shinobi to her Hokage, wondering all the while about Yondaime-sensei's strange words.

And then, seven months later, the Kyuubi no Youko came, and Suzaku understood.

Yondaime-sensei had known all along that the Kyuubi was coming. The promise he had made her and Kakashi make had been a safeguard.

Not long after the Kyuubi arrived, Tohru went into premature labor, and Suzaku was summoned from her duties to deliver the child. Tohru gave birth to the child, a healthy baby boy.

"He looks like you, Sensei," she had said, holding the infant out to his father.

Yondaime-Sensei's face had been a mask of determination, adoration, fear, and more than a little self-loathing as he swept the newborn into his arms. He held the child, rocked him, and crooned lovingly at him for a while. Then he looked Suzaku in the eye and said curtly, "You promised."

Suzaku nodded. "I will protect him, Sensei," she had said.

"Take care of Kakashi and Tohru also," he had said.

"I will do all that I can," Suzaku had replied.

Yondaime-Sensei nodded and left, leaving Suzaku to clean up and see to Tohru after the difficult labor.

She could hear precisely when the battle ended. But she didn't know the outcome until the ANBU and the Hunters met with the Sandaime at noon the next day.

Her fellow Oinin, who knew her relationship with Yondaime-Sensei were not surprised when she had broken down when Sandaime told them that Sensei was dead. The ANBU were not so forgiving. She had shrunk back as the White Wolf, Kakashi, her old friend and teammate, ripped into her, yelling and screaming at her, accusing her of not doing her duty.

"You were his primary physician!" he had yelled, "Where were you when Sensei was dying of chakra depletion?! It's your fault sensei is dead now! Where were you when Sensei needed you?"

Suzaku dearly wanted to rip off the mask, she truly wanted to scream as Natsume Rin and respond to the accusations to react against the attempt to pin the blame on her.

"He was my sensei too!" she wanted to scream. "Yes, I was his primary physician, but my duties were not simply to him, but also to his family! Tohru-san went into premature labor! I was taking care of the birth, taking care of Tohru-san in the aftermath!" she wanted to scream. "Her insides were all torn up and she was dying of blood loss! I was trying to keep her from slipping into shock and dying!"

Suzaku wanted to rip off her mask and scream back, but she didn't. She couldn't. She was a Hunter, nameless, faceless, and unlike the ANBU, Hunters did not have a second identity to live in addition to the identity behind the mask. All Hunters had was the mask, and from the moment she became Suzaku, Natsume Rin had died.

In the end, Kakashi, despite his promise to Yondaime-Sensei, wanted nothing to do with the child. Suzaku, as promised, did not remove the Hunter's mask, and Natsume Rin never returned to life.

Tohru-san died two weeks later of infection and heartbreak, leaving two week old Kazama Kazuki-kun orphaned. Suzaku mourned for a day for the woman who had been like a mother to her, before continuing with her promise to Yondaime-Sensei. She watched as Sandaime sealed the records and renamed little Kazama Kazuki into Uzumaki Naruto. She stood in the shadows near the baby while Sandaime announced the news to the village. And she kept her promise.

Four years later, Suzaku watched as Kakashi became ANBU Captain. That same year, she watched as Naruto died and became Zeiguwa under the tutelage of Kou no Tori, Ookami, and Tora. She spoke with Ookami, Kou no Tori, Tora, Mizuhebi, and Kurohyou and they taught Zeiguwa everything they knew.

Suzaku had been the one who had told Zeiguwa all about the Kyuubi and his family, and she had taught him what Yondaime-Sensei had taught her: A genius is a master of revealing, but an idiot is a master of concealing. And she had used her genin team as an example.

She watched as Zeiguwa made his first kill, and watched as he continued killing. She and Kou no Tori took turns comforting him in those early years.

When Zeiguwa was six, he ran into a chunnin who recognized and remembered him, and blinded him. Suzaku then taught Zeiguwa how to function without his eyes. When Zeiguwa was seven, the Kyuubi finished reconstructing his eyes, and Suzaku watched as he made a name for himself as Konoha's Blind Hunter in the Bingo Books.

When the Uchiha Massacre took place four months after Zeiguwa's eyes healed, Suzaku had been the one to heal Uchiha Itachi after he had given valid proof that he had not killed his clan, and that his defection was for appearances sake. She had then turned around and healed Zeiguwa, not that he needed much healing, considering the Kyuubi's healing factor.

She had tutored Zeiguwa in acting like a child so he would blend in with the other children when he infiltrated the Academy to watch Uchiha Sasuke.

A month after the Massacre, she found out that Kakashi had left the ANBU. All the while, Zeiguwa never stopped killing. Zeiguwa had just turned eight.

Eight Years old. Four years younger than Kakashi when he had turned his back on his promise to Yondaime-Sensei. That had been when Suzaku told Zeiguwa about the promise that Yondaime-Sensei had wanted his remaining students to make.

Four years later, Hiyohime was KIA and Suzaku took her place as the Commander of the Oinin. That same year, Suzaku laughed herself out of a tree when she found out that Kakashi had become the jounin supervisor of Team 7, the genin team that contained Naruto, their late Sensei's son.

"Kakashi wanted nothing to do with Naruto and broke his promise to Sensei, leaving me to do all the work," Suzaku had told Kurohyou in between gales of hysterical laughter, "And now he is Naruto's jounin supervisor. In the end, Kakashi still has to interact with Sensei's son! I hope Naruto gives Kakashi hell for abandoning him!"

Then Suzaku noticed how Kakashi concentrated a majority of his efforts on Uchiha Sasuke, the barest of effort on Haruno Sakura, and none on Naruto. At first, she had written it off, having also noticed how Kakashi had often left baskets of fruits and vegetables on Naruto's kitchen counter, assuming that she might have missed the time when Kakashi trained Naruto and Haruno Sakura.

The afternoon that Team 7 returned from the mission to Wave Country, Zeiguwa had stormed into Headquarters, slammed the mission scroll on to her desk, snarled out a brief report, and stalked out of her office, most likely to beat the stuffing out of the training posts or whichever poor sap was silly enough to accept his invitation to spar.

She had been horrified when she heard Zeiguwa tell her over breakfast the next day that the only thing Kakashi had really taught him had been tree climbing (which was essentially useless to him since he already knew it) and that "A ninja who breaks the rules is trash, but a ninja who abandon's their comrade is worse than trash."

At the time, Suzaku had thought it fortunate that Kakashi had given the team the next three days off to rest, and that her days off coincided with Team 7's days off. She spent the day with Zeiguwa, and planned the tongue lashing she would give Kakashi when she saw him…

Two days after Team 7 returned from the Wave Country mission, Kakashi woke to find a furious Natsume Rin sitting on his desk in his apartment. It had been the first time since Yondaime-Sensei had died that Suzaku had revealed her true form on one of her off days. It was quite unfortunate that it had been spent arguing with Kakashi about who was to blame for what had happened in the past and who had truly kept their promise to Yondaime-Sensei as well as scolding him for not following Yondaime-Sensei's teachings instead of catching up and simply basking in the comfort of knowing that the other was still alive.

A week later, on her way home from a mission, Suzaku overheard Kakashi lecture Naruto on how recklessly he used his Kage Bushin and how he would do well to tone things down and work on his control and genjutsu and to add to his repertoire of ninjutsu.

Two weeks later, Kakashi entered Team 7 into the Chunnin Exams.

Six days later, Suzaku and the other Hunters were horrified to hear that Orochimaru had marked Sasuke and overjoyed to hear that Naruto had gotten the Frog Sannin, Jiraiya to train him. He would learn much from his father's teacher.

A month later, Konoha was invaded. Sound and Sand were beaten back, but at a heavy price. A week later, Suzaku and the rest of Konoha attended the Sandaime's funeral, and not long afterward, Naruto and Jiraiya left in search of Tsunade. They returned a month later with the Slug Sannin and her apprentice, and Tsunade took office the very next day.

A week later, Uchiha Sasuke defected, and put a chidori through Naruto's chest. It had been Kakashi who brought a near death Naruto back to Konoha, and it had been all the other Primary Six could do to keep Suzaku from killing Kakashi on the spot. She woke up a month later to find out that Tsunade had sedated her, and had constantly had to drug her after that to keep her from going after Kakashi. Suzaku had to swear as a ninja to her Kage that she would not attack Kakashi for what he had done before Tsunade would let her leave the hospital.

Naruto and Jiraiya left three months later, and Tsunade took Haruno Sakura as her apprentice.

The night Jiraiya and Naruto left Konoha, Natsume Rin paid Kakashi another visit.

"I told you," had been all she had said.

"I know. I'm sorry," had been Kakashi's reply.

And Rin had wrapped her arms around Kakashi's shoulders, as he cried for the first time since Obito and Yondaime-Sensei had died.

Natsume Rin began paying Kakashi more visits while Naruto was gone, and their friendship was slowly repaired. All the while, the mission load went up as Konoha was lacking in manpower, and every available ninja was swamped with one mission after the other.

Naruto returned three years later, and brought Sasuke back to Konoha as Zeiguwa. Team 7 was reunited, and Suzaku watched as Naruto drifted apart from his team. He stayed just long enough to get Team 7 into the Chunnin exam, then quit. Zeiguwa left for Hidden Stone not long after.

During Zeiguwa's absence, Rin watched as Kakashi's feelings for Yondaime-Sensei's son began to evolve.

Zeiguwa returned from Hidden Stone a year later, and Suzaku had watched in delight as he played a complex game of cat and mouse with his peers, and Natsume Rin's visits to Kakashi dwindled. Suzaku and the other Hunters began placing bets as to how long it would take before Zeiguwa stopped acting and admitted that he held some feelings for Kakashi that was not entirely of the teacher-student variety.

Suzaku watched as Naruto rejoined Team 7, and had to bite her tongue to keep from giggling at the dazed look on the visible portion of Kakashi's face after the bell test had been administered.

Suzaku watched as Naruto guided Team 7 into the ranks of the Chunin, and then left for her mission. How surprised she was to realize that Naruto had retreated behind the Hunter's Mask, vanishing into the ranks of the Hunters in the Hunter's District when she returned to Konoha a month later. And Rin's visits to Kakashi increased once more.

Suzaku watched as circumstance forced Zeiguwa out of hiding several years later into a position where Kakashi had been able to confront him. To the surprise of many Hunters, Suzaku had won the most money, but then again, many grumbled, Suzaku knew the two involved best. Suzaku had not been surprised when she heard that Zeiguwa had been ruthless with the Sound. He had always shown a protective streak where his precious people were concerned, even when he wore the mask…

Suzaku had been away on a mission when Naruto had been captured by the Akatsuki, and when she had returned, she had been among the Hunters sent out as advance scouts to search out the land. It had been Suzaku who made a trail for the Joint Rescue Party that led to Kisame and Naruto.

After the ordeal, Suzaku took care of Naruto at night after Kakashi had left, but not long after, she found herself leaving the village once more. She had laughed herself silly when she received a letter from Naruto about Kakashi's kindness, and how gentle he had been, and how Kakashi had washed away his uncertainties. She got good and drunk in celebration for the two men in her life that night.

Then suddenly, she was recalled.

"Tora has betrayed the village," Tsunade told her. "All of Naruto's precious people are in danger. Stay alert, stay on the look out. If you find her, kill her or bring her in for interrogation."

When Tora struck against Yamanaka Ino, it had been Suzaku who had intervened for Ino's life. To Suzaku's disappointment, she had been unable to stop Tora, and she escaped. Suzaku visited Naruto in the hospital quickly before going home to get some sleep.

A week later, Suzaku mobilized the entire Oinin force that was not hunting the last members of the Akatsuki, and moved them into concentrating their eyes on the village, searching for Tora. She received a three hour long tongue lashing from the Godaime for it, and she eventually regulated Sixth Seat into hunting down nuke-nin.

Several weeks later, Suzaku faced off against Tora once more. This time, they fought at the roof of the hospital. Kakashi and Genma had gone to the roof to talk, and arrived in time to see Suzaku hit the wall, her cracked mask shattering on her face, the shards falling to the floor.

"Rin?" was Kakashi's shocked question.

"Don't leave him alone…" Suzaku said, "Don't give her an opening!"

Tora was on the move, she noted.

"Don't leave Naruto alone!" she yelled, pulling herself to her feet, and she chased down Tora.

Rin woke up in the hospital a month later in extreme pain.

"You were here the entire time," Kakashi had said.

"Yes," she said.

"I accused you of not being there for sensei…"

"You didn't know."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It's alright," she replied.

She found out from the Hokage the next day that Kakashi had hunted down Tora and killed her a week after the confrontation on the roof and that two weeks before, Hidden Cloud had declared war on Konoha.

Two weeks later, she was declared fit to leave the hospital. A week later, Suzaku was drawn over the visage of Rin, and she departed for the front lines.

Five grueling months later, she received a letter from Kakashi, passed on by Sixth Seat, stating that the Akatsuki Leader had finally been captured and dealt with. Despite the good news, that resources were now freed up for Konoha to concentrate on Cloud, it had taken twenty-three Hunters, fifty-seven ANBU, and Uchiha Itachi himself to bring the Leader down. A letter to Sasuke had been found among Itachi's things, Kakashi's letter said, and it seemed that the Uchiha had known from the start of the manhunt that he would die before being able to reconcile with his brother, and so, had written the letter, just in case. Sasuke had been justifiably surprised, distraught, and angry, when he had received his brother's letter, and to ensure that he didn't do anything stupid, was being regulated out of Konoha to help out in the front lines. "Things in Konoha are as well as could be during a time of war," Kakashi had written, "and while Naruto has shown no signs of waking, examinations showed signs of his consciousness being closer to the surface of his mind than before. The medics have high hopes for his recovery. In any case, with the manhunt for the remainder of the Akatsuki at an end, resources have been freed up. Despite the loss of so many of our best, the returning shinobi will be given a chance to rest and restock on supplies, and will then be regulated to help our forces in the front lines," and then Kakashi's letter had ended with an uncharacteristically sentimental, "Yours Truly, Kakashi".

As expected, Uchiha Sasuke arrived in the front lines at the end of the two week mark. The arrival of an Uchiha made life slightly better, but for Suzaku and her Hunters, there was always work to do, and little to no rest.

As the first year of the war drew to a close, Suzaku was at one of the camps closer to the border, making inspections. Kumo lauched a raid agains them, and Suzaku and Hagetake remained behind while the other ninja retreated. Their lives ended as Suzaku activated the explosive tags scattered throughout the camp for the sole purpose of destroying the place if they were raided.

Suzaku never knew of Kakashi's rage at the news of her death…

She never witnessed Naruto's awakening…

She never attended their civil union five years later…

She never saw Naruto utilize the Orioke no Jutsu so he could bear Kakashi's child…

She never knew that Kakashi and Naruto had named the child after her…

All Suzaku knew was that her death would make them both sad and proud…

All Suzaku knew was that her death would be worth it if it kept Kakashi and Naruto safe…

All Suzaku knew was that her death would drive Kakashi to the brink, and if Naruto knew it, he would wake…

So Suzaku met her death bravely and with open arms…

**Owari**


	4. Chapter 4

**Original Summary:** He was a Jinchuuriki who was murdered by his best friend. But Fate has other plans, and Naruto wakes up in his five year old body. KakaNaru Yaoi

**New Summary:** After his death in the Valley of the End, Naruto wakes up in his five year old body and the ideals and responsibilities of his father's clan fall upon his shoulders as he becomes the bearer of the impossible Yochigan. As his mind threatens to break under the strain of the legacy of the Kazama clan, his only hope in salvation lies in the hands of the one person he pushes away due to his overwhelming love for them. Can Kakashi get close in time to preserve Naruto's deteriorating sanity? KakaNaru Yaoi

**A/N:** To answer another of the questions brought up in one of the reviews, no, Orochimaru isn't going to give up on the Yochigan. It's far too precious to give up, instead, he may try something like he did with the Shodai's DNA. I don't know, maybe.

Second, yeah, yeah, I know what the summary says, but come on. He just got the Yochigan, it's only just settled. It's currently controllable. No, for now, the summary is not applicable. Maybe later on in the story it will be, but for now, not just yet.

**Notes: **Finals ended yesterday, yay! But then Spring Semester starts up in six days. Damn! In any case, there will be two new terms in this chapter, and before anyone flames me about them, I will include their definitions here. A Mariboshi is an illusion and Takusen is Oracle. And just so you lot know, if Ibiki seems OOC, take into account that the Oracle is not a person you can serve easily, and Ibiki is in the Oracle's service until the end of the Chunnin Exams. In any case, I'm going to be attending classes for six days a week starting at 7:00AM and ending at 4:00 or 5:00 PM, so don't expect any quick updates from here on in.

**Soundscape Filler 1: Snake Shish-Kabob Anyone?**

"_Brat,"_ the Kyuubi said, as Naruto made his way up toward the balconies, _"You might want to release the eyes. It's damaging the eyes faster than I can heal them."_

Naruto blinked. _"Thanks Kyuubi,"_ he thought.

"_No problem, brat."_

Naruto quickly pulled the chakra out of his eyes, and there was a faint itching as his eyes shifted back to its normal cerulean. It was with a faint, cool smile that he leaned against the railing of the balcony to watch Hinata and Neji's fight.

* * *

The preliminaries ended swiftly, and exactly as Naruto remembered. He sighed and stood with the other participants as the Hokage told them about the month they had off, and where to go for Third Exam. After the Sandaime dismissed them, Naruto turned his head and locked eyes with the golden ones belonging to Orochimaru. His eyes flashed with the Yochigan, one, twice, three times, and the surroundings rippled… 

…_and returned to normal but for the heavy tension in the air and a faint iridescence that seemed to surround everything._

_Orochimaru looked around and noticed that he was alone… no… not alone, because there, in the ring, stood a boy dressed in orange. Uzumaki Naruto, he believed his name was, the Oracle…_

"_I know what you seek," the boy said. "I know what you have done… I will tell you now, you will never succeed, not so long as Konoha has an Oracle."_

_Orochimaru drew a kunai. "Not if I kill you first!" he smirked._

_The world shifted, blurred, and turned black outlined in silver and gold, and Orochimaru found himself hanging from the ceiling, his weight supported by his wrists, the cold metal of the shackles biting into his flesh._

"_You are familiar with Uchiha Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan am I correct?" Naruto said, "Therefore, you should know the properties of his Genjutsu, the Tsukiyomi." A calm smile crossed his lips. "The Kageyomi is quite similar, however, it would take a cleric or a kitsune to break this illusion, after all, this is not just any genjutsu, rather, it is a highly elaborate mariboshi."_

"_Well, then Takusen-sama," Orochimaru spat out the word as though the title left a foul taste in his mouth, "are you going to imitate Itachi-kun and torture me?"_

_Naruto raised an eyebrow and said, "Do you want me to torture you?" A katana appeared in his hand. "Because I could if necessary. Here, I control time, space, mass, and most of all, fate."_

_Orochimaru laughed. "No, even if I wanted to be tortured, you wouldn't. You're too soft boy. Too soft to appreciate or use that power to its fullest potential. Join me, in the Sound, you will be accepted, and your power would be---ARGH!!!"_

"_Would be what?" Naruto whispered. He shifted the katana slightly, forcing the tip to cut deeper into the Sannin's abdomen, drawing a grunt of pain from him._

"_Wo-would be appreciated…" Orochimaru said._

"_I have changed my mind," Naruto said, "I do believe," he pulled the katana free, "that I **will** torture you," and slid it into the Sannin again, "after all." He tugged the blade free and placed the tip against Orochimaru's throat. "To quote Uchiha Itachi, 'For the next three days, I shall stab you with this katana, doubling each time. How long will your mind withstand this, I wonder?'"_

_And so it began, and Orochimaru's screams rent through the blackness outlined in gold and silver that was the Kageyomi…_

Naruto wobbled, and Ibiki caught and supported him as he lowered his head, panting heavily. On the balcony, Orochimaru stood still, his eyes wide and unseeing.

"Takusen-sama?" Ibiki said quietly, "are you alright?"

Naruto brought his breathing under control and straightened and said calmly, "I'm fine. I simply need to rest."

"Then allow me to escort you home, My Lord."

Naruto nodded, and he and Ibiki bowed to the Sandaime, and Ibiki placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder, and they vanished in a swirl of leaves.


	5. Chapter 5

**Original Summary:** He was a Jinchuuriki who was murdered by his best friend. But Fate has other plans, and Naruto wakes up in his five year old body. KakaNaru Yaoi

**New Summary:** After his death in the Valley of the End, Naruto wakes up in his five year old body and the ideals and responsibilities of his father's clan fall upon his shoulders as he becomes the bearer of the impossible Yochigan. As his mind threatens to break under the strain of the legacy of the Kazama clan, his only hope in salvation lies in the hands of the one person he pushes away due to his overwhelming love for them. Can Kakashi get close in time to preserve Naruto's deteriorating sanity? KakaNaru Yaoi

**Filler 2: The Godaime's Acquiescence**

A gentle wind was blowing as Tsunade stepped into training ground 7, her eyes taking in the familiar sight of the three training posts and the memorial stone at the edge of the clearing.

"It's been a long time since I was last here…" she murmured to herself.

The sound of cloth and a warm body moving through the trees caught her attention. There was a quiet thud in a tree near the edge of the clearing, and the quiet tinkle of a bell.

"Oh?" she turned in time to see a faint blur moving through the trees, and as she tracked it, the blur vanished.

There was a faint ripple of chakra the quiet tinkling of a bell as a slender figure clad in white and grey dropped from a tree, the broad sleeves flaring to trace the figure's descent. They landed silently, without the quiet _paff!_ of hitting the ground or a blast of displaced air. The figure straightened to reveal pale blue eyes and golden hair as well as the three whisker like marks on both cheeks.

"So," Tsunade said, "Why are we here?"

Naruto smiled. "It should be obvious, Tsunade. We are here to talk."

Tsunade sighed and said, "There are other places to talk."

Naruto smiled faintly. "Of course, but I thought that this place would better suit our purpose."

He walked over to the memorial stone and reached out to touch it, and continued, "After all, here we are in the presence of our predecessors," his eyes closed as he said this, "Including…" his eyes opened to reveal a golden seven pronged star rotating slowly, "the previous Hokage…"

"Erk!" Tsunade recoiled slightly at the sight of the All-Seeing-Eyes. _This is bad!_ She thought.

_He brought them out, the Yochigan…_

A cool wind blew past them, whisking leaves around the pair as the Yochigan began to rotate and blood trailed from Naruto's eyes down his face.

"Sannin Tsunade…"

_Whatever he asks... _

"You are to become…"

_With those eyes…_

"Konoha's…"

_There is no way that I can…_

"Godaime Hokage…"

_Refuse…_

And Tsunade knew that from that point on, her life would never be the same again…

Tsunade sighed. "It shall be as the Oracle wishes…"

Naruto nodded. "You will officially take office at the end of the Chunnin Exams," he said, and walked away.

Tsunade watched as the Oracle passed her, and she sighed.

_After the Chunnin Exam eh? What have you seen in our future…_

She turned and watched the retreating back of the Oracle…

_That would prompt you to select for Konoha, a succeeding Hokage?_

Her question would be answered far too soon…


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Summary: Set after Parallel (One Shot) The Kazama Clan has fallen, and now Konoha must deal with the aftermath without the Oracle's guidance. GW/Naruto Crossover

**Angel of Death**

Konohagakure no Sato in the heart of Fire Country was in mourning. The last of the Kazama Clan was gone, and there would never again be a blue eyed Oracle wandering the village, and guiding the Hidden Leaf through rough times. The Kazama Clan had finally fallen, and those who had lived through the previous Oracles suddenly felt defenseless, as though a long standing defense had suddenly vanished.

In many ways, it was the truth. Konoha had always had an Oracle to guide the village from the very moment of its founding. The Oracle Sorasmaru had met the Shodai Hokage through her distant kin, Uchiha Madara, and had guided him to build his village in its current position. Soramaru had become so besotted with the infant village, that she had settled in Konoha permanently, and started a family. Ever since then, Soramaru's children had lived and protected the village. By the power of the Oracle, Konoha had become one of the greatest Ninja Villages to ever exist, and now that the line of Oracles had broken…

Would the village fall without an Oracle? Konoha was entering its most difficult times. They were now to live without an Oracle. The Oracle, who had guided them, protected them…

* * *

Throughout the village, only one man did not grieve. Rather, he laughed and toasted Kazama Uzumaki Naruto Kazuki's name and gathered his forces to him. He never thought that the Oracle might have spoken of him in his last moments, and for Danzou, that would be his fall…

* * *

At the training ground seven, Zabuza and Haku stood before the Hero's Monument, and stared at the cenotaph. Ibiki and Anko arrived, both carrying a batch of lilies and they set the flowers at the monument. The two special jounin bowed their heads and rose to their feet. They nodded to Zabuza and Haku in acknowledgement and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

In the Hokage's Tower, Sarutobi found a message written in the Oracle's hand, urging him to select a successor, and if there was no one in Konoha who was fit, to summon the Sannin Tsunade. It reminded Sarutobi that Danzo was not to be trusted, to eliminate him before he caused Konoha's downfall. In the meantime, if it were possible, to reinstate Uchiha Itachi as a ninja of Konoha since the secret behind the Uchiha Clan Massacre had been revealed. His belongings and a third of his fortune were bequeathed to Morino Ibiki, Mitarashi Anko, Gekkyou Hayate, Uchiha Itachi, and Hatake Kakashi as reward for their service while another third of his fortune was to go into the Orphan's Fund and the last third to the restoration of Konoha. Any excess would go into Konoha's Maintenance budget.

Sarutobi gently set the scroll down, and covered his face with his hands.

* * *

The Konoha 11 (minus Naruto and plus Sasuke) stood in front of Naruto's grave, their jounin supervisors, minus Kakashi, behind them. Iruka and the Konohamaru Corps were at the very front, and all fifteen ninja held firm to the twenty-fifth ninja rule and were dry eyed while the three Academy Students cried quietly.

"Is this what it means to be a ninja?" Moegi asked quietly, tears running down her face, "Loosing friends to missions and war?"

Iruka placed a hand on her shoulder and said quietly with his eyes fixed on the name engraved on the gravestone, "Yes. But Naruto was not the average ninja. Our duty as ninja is to protect the village and the Hokage. Naruto's duty was not the duty of a ninja. His was the duty of the Oracle, first and foremost. As the descendant of one of the Founders of this village, his duty was to watch for dangers to come, to select the best path to bring Konoha to greatness, and then to do everything in his power to see it through. It is the price Naruto's family pays for their Yochigan."

"It's not fair!" Konohamaru yelled, "Why did all of that get put on Naruto-nii-chan's shoulders?"

"Because he is the last of his clan," Iruka said sadly.

Udon stood there, his eyes watering, but tears not falling, and he listened to the talk. A gentle breeze blew past, and he made a silent pledge…

* * *

Kakashi stood inside the house that Naruto and his friends had resided in for so long. All around, he could see the signs of daily life in the Oracle Manor. In that sink were the remnants of dirty dishes, and pots and pans still soaking and waiting to be washed. On that table was that delicate flower-like cup from which Naruto and his housemates tended to drink their tea. On the kitchen counter was a pile of vegetables, set to the side for preparation of the next meal, and in a large bowl next to the vegetables was a hunk of frozen meat, still thawing.

In the living room, was that single glass table surrounded by the couches and sofa, and there were signs of preparations for war. There were those shuriken, which had been left out because they were dull, the kunai that had not been taken because the wrappings on the handle was loose, and the blade was chipped. There was that extra roll of nin-wire that had been left behind, and the small sack of soldier pills, and slung over that chair was a jacket, and in that corner was a set of weights.

Kakashi wandered through the house, until he reached a room which had housed the one person he had ever loved most.

Naruto…

The young Oracle rarely wore bright colors unless he was inside the village, even then, it was usually as a jacket that could be quickly thrown off and turned inside out so the dark lining would be more appropriate for a ninja's line of work. Kakashi opened the door slowly and stepped inside.

The emblem of Konoha and the Oracle seemed to be the theme in that room, and there, hanging on a hook was Naruto's formal robes. Over there was that little sleeping cap that he had outgrown and stopped wearing when he turned ten. On that bedside table was a picture of Naruto and the four teens Anko and Ibiki tended to call the Pilots, and that picture was surrounded by that team photo that had been taken not long after Team Seven had been officially passed, and there were pictures of Naruto at a party with the ANBU who watched him surrounding him. There was even a picture of the boy with his arms around Iruka's shoulders as the two laughed toward the camera.

Kakashi picked up the sleeping cap and pressed his face against it, and breathed in. He could smell Naruto on it, the scent of ramen and sunshine, with warm green tea, and the cold metallic scent of the kunai and shuriken that was a part of every ninja's arsenal, and the faintest traces of blood and tears, all of which made up Naruto's unique scent.

Tears sprang once more to his eyes, and Kakashi sat down heavily on Nauto's bed, clutching the hat to his chest. The pillow shifted, and there was a crinkling of paper.

Curious, his tugged the paper out from beneath the pillow. His name had been written on it, underneath it was a seal that resembled a chakra seal, so Kakashi channeled his chakra into the seal. If he had been less desperate to find a way to ignore the fact that Naruto was dead, he'd have known better. As it was, the seal glowed then all Kakashi knew was darkness…

* * *

Itachi felt his eyes twinge. He stopped and turned his head to the sky, his Sharingan fading into black in respect for the fallen Oracle before they reappeared. He turned his head and gathered his chakra, and released a burst of black fire at Kisame…

* * *

Hayate lay in the hospital bed, his eyes turned toward the Hokage Monument, a slip of paper clenched in his hands. He lifted it and read the words that were inscribed by the Oracle…

_Look to the companions of the Honored Grandson. There is one who shares blood, though it is unknown. The Yochigan has not fallen yet!_

Anko and Ibiki appeared and he held the paper toward them wordlessly. They read the message and the three exchanged secretive smiles. A silent pledge had been made. They would protect the Kazama Clan's little illegitimate orphan…

* * *

**T**sunade was persuaded to return by a note written by the Oracle that had been left in Jiraiya's keeping before the Third Exam. She became the Godaime Hokage a month after the Invasion since it was the Oracle's last wish.

**S**arutobi died fighting Danzo during his attempted coup d'etat a year after Tsunade's inauguration as Hokage.

**E**bisu succeeded Tsunade as Rokudaime Hokage.

**J**iraiya…. Is still a pervert… He eventually found out about the Kazama Clan's illegitimate fledgling and trained him to surpass his predecessors.

**I**tachi's name was cleared, and he single handedly destroyed the Akatsuki. His body was brought back to Konoha by Ibiki and Anko who had been sent to give him the good news.

**K**akashi was found unconscious in Naruto's bedroom, clutching Naruto's old sleeping cap. He has never woken up. His share from Naruto's will was given to the Kazama Clan's Illegitimate Fledgling.

**A**nko helped raise the Kazama Clan's Illegitimate Fledgling. She was dating Umino Iruka when she died protecting the Konohamaru Corps during Danzo's attempted Coup D'etat.

**I**biki stayed in the ANBU T&I and had lots of fun after Danzo's attempted coup d'etat. He took on Yamanaka Ino as an apprentice and protects the Kazama Clan's Illegitimate Fledgling from a distance.

**K**urenai gave up being a ninja to take care of her family with Sarutobi Asuma.

**A**suma married Yuuhi Kurenai and had a family with her. He even gave up smoking, though he still lights a cig every now and then.

**G**ai…. Is _still_ spouting nonsense…

**H**ayate does the same as Ibiki, and was Kazama Clan's Illegitimate Fledgling's Jounin Sensei until Jiraiya found out. He married Uzuki Yuugao.

**L**ee gave up his spandex and got his eyebrows plucked, though he still hero worships Gai. He's married to Sakura.

**S**akura is a top medic under Tsunade's tutelage. She married Rock Lee.

**H**inata is head of the Hyuuga Clan. She and her sister, Hyuuga Hanabi killed their father once they discovered that Hyuuga Hiashi was a conspirator in Danzo's coup d'etat. After Naruto's death, she has sworn to never marry.

**N**eji is Commander of Konoha's ANBU. He has his eye on Higurashi Tenten, who has her eye on Uchiha Sasuke, who has his eye on Yamanaka Ino, who returns his feelings.

**T**enten is Commander of Konoha's Hunters. She is Hyuuga Neji's girl of choice, but she has her eye on Uchiha Sasuke who has his eye on Yamanaka Ino, who returns his feelings.

**I**no is Morino Ibiki's apprentice, and second in command of Konoha ANBU T&I. She is the only reason why Hyuuga Neji hasn't Jyuukened Uchiha Sasuke to death yet.

**S**asuke lost the stick that was up his ass after the secret of the Uchiha Massacre was revealed. He is second in command of Konoha's ANBU. He has his eye on Yamanaka Ino. If he has any idea of how close he is to getting Jyuukened to death, he doesn't show it because he certainly doesn't know that Higurashi Tenten has her eye on him.

**S**hikamaru is Konoha's primary tactician, but hasn't gotten any less lazy. He is also Head of the Nara Clan.

**C**houji is Head of the Akimichi Clan. His appetite seems to have gotten larger. For whatever reason, he is dating Ami, who was the class bully, and Ami is besotted with him.

**I**ruka is still teaching at the Academy. He dated Mitarashi Anko until she died.

**K**iba is head of the Inuzuka Clan. He respects Hyuuga Hinata's wish to never marry, but has not lost his love for her.

**S**hino is Head of the Aburame Clan. He is second in command of Konoha's Special Tracking Unit.

**M**oegi made good on her dream to become Konoha's most beautiful Kunoichi. In fact, 8 times out of 10, she can knock out a guy by winking at him. The other 2 times, she beats the shit out of them. Jiraiya is her favorite punching bag. She is dating Sarutobi Konohamaru.

**K**onohamaru grew to be as powerful a ninja as his grandfather and his uncle. He eventually succeeded Ebisu as Nanadaime Hokage.

**U**don is the Kazama Clan's Illegitimate Fledgling. He received Hatake Kakashi's share of goods from Uzumaki Naruto's will. His heritage as a Kazama was revealed when he awoke the Yochigan just before Danzo's coup d'etat. He became the second longest lived Kazama and was a ninja who surpassed his predecessors.

**Owari**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Summary: In all the time that the Kazama Clan has existed, the Oracle has always fallen at their own hands. When Konoha was created, the Oracles ceased this tradition, but somewhere along the lines, the tradition began again… Then came the Last Oracle, a son who bears the Impossible Yochigan… Can be set in either Soundscape or Parallel. (One Shot)

**Angel of Death**

The Kazama line was known for its great warriors. The women were deadly, beautiful, and wise, the men skilled in the shadows with senses like no others. They were great leaders, for the sons were soldiers whose senses and instincts made them formidable enemies, and were often seal masters with brilliant minds. The daughters were deadly yet wise, for they bore the eyes which were the pride of the Kazama Clan, the Yochigan, which allowed them to see far, and they viewed things that were, things that are, and some things that had not yet come to pass. The daughters became the Oracles, and the sons the guardians and carriers. Both had the eyes, but only the daughters could carry them without harm, and rare were the sons who bore the eyes…

Rare, but not unheard of, for it was said that Kazama Sora, the founder of the Kazama line, bore the Yochigan, though the onslaught of visions throughout time destroyed his sight and drove him mad…

* * *

Those who bore the Yochigan were known as the Oracle, and the Oracle has never been known to live to see old age. The few Oracles who lived a few years past the time when their tasks were done were those who had need of preserving their eyes and their blood. Over and over, the Oracles lived and died and rose again from the ashes of their predecessors, until one day, a child was born to the Oracle Miyuki, and the child had pearl white eyes without a pupil, and she called him Hideki. The Oracle Miyuki taught Hideki to harness the power of his eyes, and when he was skilled enough with the use of those eyes, she named it the Byakugan, and called Hideki, not Kazama, but Hyuuga. Once that was done, she told him to make his new clan great, and to always remember the line from which they sprung, and then he departed, she returned to her abode and burned down her home with herself inside.

* * *

Hideki did as his Kazama mother told him, and he brought into the world the Hyuuga Clan, and created the Jyuuken, which is a form of taijutsu used by the Hyuugas to this day. From the Hyuuga sprang Madara, and Madara had red eyes. At that time, the successor of the Oracle Miyuki was the Oracle Tomoe. The Oracle Tomoe took in Madara and stripped him of the name Hyuuga, and called him Uchiha. She taught him the uses of his eye, and called it the Sharingan, and once Madara was proficient in its use, she told him to remember his roots and how they sprang from the Hyuuga, and how the Hyuuga sprang from the Kazama, and told him to make his clan great. After Madara's departure, she returned to her home and slit her own throat.

* * *

Almost immediately after the Oracle Tomoe, came the Oracle Soramaru, who was named in honor of the founder of the Kazama Clan because she closely resembled the Kazama Clan founder in face and power. Soramaru soon proved that she resembled the Founder in more than just looks when she set the record for the youngest Yochigan bearer, having awakened the Prediction Eye at the age of five.

Soramaru sent Madara, who was in his teens, north, where Madara met the man who would later be known as the Shodai Hokage of Konoha, and struck up a friendship with him. Time passed, and Soramaru's power became known to the Shodai through Madara. It was Soramaru who guided the Shodai to the spot where Konoha was founded, and later, when the ninja wars began, it was Soramaru who took a gamble and had the Shodai throw the infant village into the war.

Soramaru's gamble paid off, and towards the end of the Shinobi War, Konoha was known to be a powerful ninja village. Soramaru, unlike her predecessors, died of old age. Not long after, the Shodai gave his life for his village, and followed his Oracle into death, and the Shodai's brother became the Nidaime Hokage.

* * *

The day the Nidaime came into power, the Oracle Kimiko woke the Yochigan. Instead of revealing her power like her predecessors, she kept her eyes quiet, and became a Hunter. Her eyes were invaluable among the Hunters, and her reputation soared. But Kimiko would soon realize why so many of her predecessors died by their own hands…

She thought that if she did not attempt to look too far, she would not overtax her Yochigan. She did not realize that every use of the Yochigan, not matter how far she looked, would tax her mind body and soul. She was hunting a B class nuke-nin when her mind was swept away into the flow of time, and her body, left without a sentient mind to control it, fell into a primal state.

In essence, she went mad, and killed everything in sight. By the time her body was cut down by the ANBU and Hunters, she had eliminated almost a third of the ANBU forces and a quarter of the Hunter's forces. Kazama Kimiko went down in Konoha's history as the only Kazama to ever turn against the Leaf. Where she was once known among the Hunters and the ANBU as the Shining Blade of the Leaf, she was now known as the Mad Blade.

The Oracle Kimiko is never spoken of in the Kazama household for the shame of the deeds she committed with her Bleeding Eyes.

* * *

After Kazama Kimiko, Kazama Chizuru succeeded as Oracle. The time between Kazama Kimiko and Kazama Chizuru is publicly known as the longest time between the manifestations of Oracles. Only the Kazama Clan knew that there were three other Oracles before Chizuru, but they did nothing of note. They followed in the Oracle Kimiko's footsteps, and the only thing that set them apart was that they committed suicide once their Yochigan became unruly and threatened their minds and physical well being. Kazama Chizuru was a prodigy among her clan. While her eyes had not manifested until just after her genin exam, she was known to do things and know things that she was not to know at her age. It was the belief of the clan that the Kazama blood flowed strongest in her veins. Only she knew that her brother, Kazama Arashi, also possessed a Yochigan. It was the only time that there were two Yochigan users at the same time, and they used their eyes to great effect. After she became a genin, she came to love one of her teammates as more than a friend, and so she selected him to be her Mouth. With the Yochigan, Chizuru guided Konoha to victory in the Third Great Ninja War. And then, she brought her Mouth to the top of the Hokage's Monument, entrusted him with the task of protecting her unborn nephew, and leapt off the mountain to her death, leaving behind her brother, Kazama Arashi to take her place as Oracle.

After her death, only Arashi and his chosen bride knew of his Yochigan.

* * *

Kazama Arashi's Yochigan was a secret, and he used the secret to his best advantage. With the Yochigan, he quietly averted wars that would cripple Konoha, and with those secret eyes, he created techniques that made him famous throughout the shinobi world. On the days before the coming of the Kyuubi, Arashi instructed his students on many things, including an oath to protect his son. When the Kyuubi came, Arashi knew without a doubt that his son would suffer for his actions, but his son could become the Oracle that would bring about a Golden Era where wars would be but a distant memory, and Konoha would slowly be weaned off their reliance on the Oracle, for his son would be that Last True Oracle of the Kazama Line.

It was with a heart full of hope and sorrow that Arashi offered his soul as payment to the Death God for the sealing of the Kyuubi no Yoko.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto had always known that he was different, for he could see that which once was, that which is, and that which had not yet come to pass. He confided this only to the Sandaime Hokage, who protected and guided him to his best ability. At a young age, the Insight which was a trait unique to the Kazama Clan made him a prodigy in the ways of the ninja, and the Sandaime, with the intention of teaching him to hone those abilities, sent Naruto into the care of Konoha's Hunter Ninja.

Among Konoha's Hunters, Naruto flourished, and knowing the creed of secrecy by which the Hunters lived, the Sandaime revealed to Naruto the secrets of his heritage, a secret which Naruto carried with him to his death in the Valley of the End.

But what was this?

The Gods favored the poor orphaned child born of the House of Oracles, and Naruto opened his eyes to find himself thrown back through time, and he lived once again. With this second chance, Naruto found himself fighting with all his heart and soul to change the future. Even just a little change could make way for a better and brighter future, and Naruto was determined to do everything in his power to bring that future to reality, and so he dealt with the Kyuubi and awakened his Yochigan.

With the All-Seeing-Eye opened, changes came, swifter, harder, greater and with them, possibilities with different and more terrible consequences came to be, and Naruto fought to keep Konoha from sinking into darkness and destruction. Time is a fickle friend, and as more time passes, the farther his powers and mind are stretched, and the more essential Anchors become to his sanity. Time moves on, and his mind is stretched to the limit, and Naruto has no doubts that had he not been so fragile already, then perhaps he would have lasted longer. Time flows ever onward, and Naruto struggles and fights, and carries a burden that threatens to consume him, and he struggles and fights back, and with every step forward, he falls back by two.

Time flows forward, and Naruto realizes that he is nearing his breaking point, and it will not be long before his time draws to an end, but he fights on, struggling through time and adversity, he refuses to give in, and his friends and family watch him, unable to help any more than to watch and help him back to his feet when he falls, and still he struggles onward, for if he falls and does not get up again, he does not think that he will have another chance, and he must bring to reality a brighter and better future for his loved ones than the one that they would have if he dies and left things unfinished.

And so even now, he struggles to move forward…


End file.
